NEW JERSEY – A New Jersey man could face charges after he allegedly tied his dog outside an airport 1,000 miles from his home and then left her there as he returned to the East Coast.
The 1-year-old puppy, named Allie, was abandoned at the Des Moines, Iowa airport on December 29. She was tied up in front of the terminal when her owner was told that without a box she couldn’t take her home.
It took only minutes for travelers to alert police of Allie’s abandonment, after her owner, identified as Charles Bigsen, decided to take that flight back to New Jersey without his pet.
Despite the 1,000-mile flight, Bigsen will be unable to escape the long arm of the law. He was returning home just before the New Year from working in Iowa, but may face a dog abandonment charge in the state. However, there were no signs of abuse.
“I believe the previous owner verbally waived all ownership rights to us,” said Joe Stafford of the Animal Rescue League-Iowa, where Allie is now up for adoption. “She is truly a very affectionate, sweet and loving young dog who has displayed a lot of puppy behavior.”
Our sister network NBC New York was unable to reach Bigsen for comment.
Back in Newark, at the Associated Humane Societies shelter near Newark International Airport, staff said abandonments in general are not that uncommon.
“We have dogs on leashes, we leave them in parks and we’re constantly trapping them. You take four, you put 10 more,” said Lindsay Papa, the director of the shelter.
While Allie now gets a lot of attention and love, especially on social media, there is mild outrage at the Newark animal shelter that any dog could be abandoned like that.
“Buying a dog, giving him love, care. Leaving him would be like leaving my child,” said Hakim Green, supervisor of Associated Humane Societies Newark.
Shelters like the one in Newark have plenty of dogs up for adoption, but Allie no longer has those worries in Iowa. The Animal Rescue League told our sister network NBC New York that one of the travelers involved in the rescue will be her new owner in a week or so.
